Five Great Mobile Apps for Small Businesses

Smartphones are terrific devices for playing games, uploading pictures, watching movies or listening to music. But what about for small businesses? There are many ways a small business can use a smart phone to be more productive, efficient and successful. We have identified five great free indispensable apps for small businesses.

1. Dropbox

This application allows for the synchronization of files continuously across the Internet. Its ability to synchronize data files on the fly is especially useful for remote teams and collaboration. Dropbox’s folders can be easily shared with colleagues by right clicking and choosing ‘share’ from the program’s menu. The final step is to share the correct folder and its files with one or more people by entering their email addresses. Dropbox then contacts each person letting them know of the shared folder. In order to accept a share, Dropbox requires a person to sign up for the free service.

Any files placed into Dropbox are securely backed up to their servers. Similarly, previous versions of files can be easily restored, even if the file was deleted, which can save hours in downtime. Collaboration is a big benefit of this program, offering same-file access via shared folders. And, mobile viewing is easy and lightweight, allowing you to view files on the go as you need to. Dropbox starts at $99 per user/year, and is available for teams at the starting price of $795/year.

2. Wunderlist

Cloud-based task management is what Wunderlist does well. This free app can be used to manage all your important business to-do lists, allowing you to become more efficient and productivity.

Wunderlist offers many options for your lists, including Subtasks, Recurring and Reminders, all of which will help you to ensure that you never miss a deadline. And all lists can be created and managed across several devices form a single, central location. You can also share events and notes with your colleagues to keep everyone on the same page. The Wunderlist app is free and available across all mobile device platforms.

3. Evernote

Have you’ve ever wished you could combine a filing cabinet with a scrapbook that also provides audio recording? Evernote is the solution. This app allows for on-the-fly recording of lists, images, links and notes – even ones you have written by hand. The basic Evernote service is free and offers a great many featuring including 60MB of free space monthly. Evernote can be synced across mobile and table devices, computers and offers web-based access. Information is centrally stored and retrieved from a central account.

File attachments can be easily embedded in a note in Evernote simply by dragging and dropping. Evernote also provides each account holder their own unique Evernote email address, allowing for emailing for email of any document. PDF documents are also viewable in Evernote. All notes can be merged and stored according to categories or tages much like a filing cabinet system. The app allows you to work both online and offline. For users that want more storage and features, Evernote charges $5 USD per month or $45 per year for 1GB per month, passcode security, note history, fast support, supersized file uploads and PDF and document search.

4. BeamApp

Tired of emailing yourself so you can access addresses, links or phone numbers on your device? BeamApp can help you save tons of time. This free solution analyzes what’s currently running on your desktop, whether it’s an active application, clipboard or background task, and then opens the app you need on your devices so that you can continue working on the device that works best for you.

If you need to travel to see your clients, BeamApp can communicate your route from your desktop computer to the navigation software in your iPhone with a single ‘push’. If you see a website that can help you or your clients, simply ‘beam’ them from your computer to your iPhone for instant collaboration. BeamApp is free.

5. Any.DO

Does procrastination seem like the only solution for your growing pile of tasks? Any.DO will simplify how you do things so you can get to the bottom of the pile and find time for yourself. Designed for ease-of-use, Any.DO offers seamless synching with the cloud so you can access your lists with any device, any time you need them.

You can also sync your Any.DO lists and tasks with Google Task, as well as drag-and-drop capability to make agenda planning effortless. Complete a task? It can be erased with one swipe. Or, you can shake your smart phone to clear your task list. And Any.DO’s allows for converstion of speech to text in several languages lets you speak your mind. Any.DO is free and available for all your devices.